TOS Enterprise Scratchbuild

[glorbes]

Hi everyone,

Well, I have lurked here for quite some time, and figured I'd best throw my hat into the ring. First off, I model strictly for my own enjoyment, and I tend to be more of a 'by the seat of my pants' kind of guy when it comes to model assembly. I have only made a handful of kits, and have in the past stuck with styrene scratch builds. There is so much more for me to learn in terms of advanced techniques, so I consider myself a more or less rank amature when it comes to so many aspects of model making.

The project that I am currently working on is purely inspired by Steve Neill's amazing half scale Enterprise. That thread has done more for me in terms of dreaming up what is possible than anything else in the past few years. I am a Star Trek fan (though I would probably be considered a whipper snapper by many here), being mostly familiar with TOS, TNG, and the theatrical original cast films...never did follow through with the other series. As such, the original Enterprise looms large in my imagination and my psyche...like many of you, I built the AMT kit (my first one was at age twelve, my second was recently in preparation for this project).

I know that, as is evidenced by the remarks of many people here, the AMT kit is somewhere between adored and reviled. I'm less obesessed I suppose about the absolute accuracy of it, and so have used it's basic proportions as the basis for my own large scale scratch-build. The ship that I am building is basically twice the size and dimensions of the AMT model, in the neighborhood of three feet. I wanted a really big, impressive model for my own display, and I figured this was as big as I could handle.

Here's the basic form I've worked out:

What you see here is all styrene...I have an abundance of it, so I am using it here for the that reason. I've built a frame around a basic two-dimensional drawing using my measurements. The skin is being built up using 1/2 centimeter thick strips on slightly recessed ledges that I have glued to the inner edge of each support. This is actually progressing much faster than I thought.

This thing is going to be pretty much indestructible! Thoughts and crits welcome...and much more to come.

Thanks for looking.

 

[DS Operative]

Wow, just incredible. I look forward to seeing your updates.

One last thing-- OUTSTANDING first post! Welcome!

 

[trekriffic]

Wow! What an intro!

 

[feek61]

Welcome and cool project. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

 

[Chrisisall]

Hey Glorbes, why do I get the feeling that this isn't the first model you've ever made...?
:lol
If it looks that awesome at THIS stage, I REALLY wanna see the finished piece!!!:love
I love styrene, myself.:love

 

[trekman1017]

If you are using an AMT model as a reference then perhaps when it should be labeled as USS CONSTELLATION NCC-1017

 

[robn1]

Great job :thumbsup

And your right about the strength, heavy styrene sheet glued together can be very strong stuff. I've had to undo a few things that needed correction and had a tough time of it :lol

 

[glorbes]

If you are using an AMT model as a reference then perhaps when it should be labeled as USS CONSTELLATION NCC-1017

Buddy, if I'm going through all this effort, the bird's going to be named Enterprise

Thanks for the kind welcome everyone. It's great to be sharing this project.

Thought I'd share some of the prep work I did before the build. I did some sketches of the major components, then worked out the dimensions to have for quick reference while I build:

Primary Hull:

Secondary Hull:

Nacelles:

I also did a full-scale cut-out in bristol board that I used as a template to cut out the base of the frame:

And some progress on the actual model! Not much, but the base surface is taking shape:

The plan is to sand-putty-sand the heck out of this. I may add a layer of much thinner styrene to create a subtle 'boiler plate' effect...haven't decided.

Thanks for looking!

 

[crackerjazz]

I've always wanted to build one this way. Awesome scratchbuilding! Thanks for sharing your progress shots.

 

[glorbes]

Thanks, Crackerjazz! Het to building your own...it's a total blast.

Enterprise update
A better look at the process of adding the surface to the frame; I glue a piece of styrene that is slightly recessed to the edge of the frame so that the strips of styrene are flush:

Filled in hull:

Starting to build up the shape of the Hangar Bay – the actually dome-shaped ‘doors’ are a trinket dome cut down to size (still some work and tweaking needed):

Built up the are for the sensor dish (but not the dish itself). The housing is ½ cm strips of styrene glued to a circular piece of styrene, formed around a custom made plug with a smaller diameter to get a subtle tapering effect. Once the glue between the styrene strips was dry, I puttied and sanded the heck out of it until I had a nice, smooth truncated cylinder. I found two plumber fitting that had the right diameter for the inner rings, spray painted them copper (as well as the interior of the housing):

The primary hull’s top curvature is achieved by attaching 020 styrene sheet to a frame (sliced up like a pie). Pictured is the second coat of putty:

A couple more shots – First one is the AMT kit that I built and used as measurement reference for scale comparison:

Lemme know what you all think!

 

[d_jedi1]

Impressive and shaping up nicely. I love it. :thumbsup

 

[Chrisisall]

It's so much fun to watch peeps build different scratch scales of my favourite star ship of all time! This especially, since it's equal parts model AND sculpture! In the words of Bill & Ted, EXCELLENT!

 

[Lightning]

So what are your plans for the recessed area in the bottom of the saucer section?

 

[glorbes]

Thanks, Chrisisall. Glad you're digging the build...watching other people do this kind of thing is what got me to do it myself!

Lightning, if you're talking about the 'ledge' that goes along the bottom edge of the primary hull, the way I plan on getting that effect is by adding a ring of styrene and then gradually blending it into the flay surface with putty. It won't be perfect, but it should at least give the proper effect (at least I hope so).

 

[Chrisisall]

adding a ring of styrene and then gradually blending it into the flay surface with putty. It won't be perfect, but it should at least give the proper effect (at least I hope so).

Great thing about styrene- any time you don't think something worked, you can always add/sand/tear down & begin again!:thumbsup

 

[stevdelphi]

Nicely done...very impressive

 

[glorbes]

Thanks fellas.

A little more progress...managed to construct the bridge section for the top of the primary hull, attach it, and start the proces of puttying and sanding (and then more puttying and sanding):

I also got crackin' on adding the exterior surface of the nacelles, along with notching out and installing the recessed inner nacelle area where the reactors are:

A nice quick n' dirty primer coat...and I have my work cut out for me:

More to come!

 

[glorbes]

Newbie Question: Would body filler melt styrene? I've seen it used on a number of large models here, and I'd like a product that I could use to get a smooth finish on the nacelles and secondary hull that has a bit more, er, body to it than putty (which could then be sanded down and then spot puttied). Would body filler be the thing, or would I be looking for something else to do the job?

Thanks.

 

[trekman1017]

Bondo and sand paper seam to be the way to be

 

[glorbes]

Enterprise Update
Managed to get most of the starboard nacelle covered, which was an exceptionally tedious task for some reason. I needed a break from that, so I figured I’d get cracking on the grunt work needed for the primary hull. Started covering the frame of the contoured portion of the bottom half:

I also got to work on closing in the edge of the saucer, using ½ wide pieces of styrene. She’s starting to look a bit like a starship!

Next phase of puttying and sanding will begin in earnest once I get the other nacelle covered.

Comments and crits welcome, and thanks for looking.